A nearly century-old domaine in the town of Bussières in southern Burgundy, between La Roche-Vineuse and Pierreclos and 15 minutes’ drive from Beaujolais, the Trebignaud family are committed not just to the continued maintenance of the family’s old-vine plots, but to a careful and ambitious project in the cellars that foregrounds purity and precision in the wines from top to bottom. The results, communicated clearly in their old plots of villages Chardonnay and capped off by new organic parcels of Pouilly-Fuissé (including 1er Cru Vers Cras), will excite anyone who is looking for high quality Burgundy, let alone those looking for such impressive values.

Unlike most in the Maconnais but in line with other top producers, the basic standards at Sarazinière are high: manual harvest, spontaneous fermentations, and low sulfur for cuvaison (especially for the Gamays, whose tannin protect them during the fermentation and maceration). Guillaume, the fourth-generation of the family, has recently taken the reins from his father Philippe, and is imbued with the spirit of the family and their home: honest, passionate, responsible, and determined. Philippe was the first member of the family to even bottle wine. Recognizing the risks behind this project and the absolute imperative to make quality wine, he reached out to family friend Marcel Lapierre for close counsel on organic farming, and of course, on the specificities of Gamay. (Note, however, that the Gamays here are not made carbonically à la Beaujolais, but instead are destemmed, punched down, and macerated).